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CHARLES DANBY

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GRAND NATIONAL - ART FROM BRITAIN
(9 May – 3 October 2010)

Grand National is the most comprehensive exhibition of works by British artists to be held in Norway in over a decade. It takes as its starting point the contemporary position of artists located in an internationally bound artworld in which ties to nation and national heritage are no longer the dominant or defining strategies they once were.

The politics of a British election and the shadow of financial failure offer Grand National a cyclical point of vantage from which to look at the country’s divisive politics of the late 1980s and the biting recession of the early 1990s; the rubble from which an infamous group of artists emerged. Grand National turns to the peripheries of Britain’s fervent and acclaimed 1990s generation to track through Punk, New Wave Cinema, and literature the social, aesthetic, and historical contexts that drove resistance and that underpin current evolving art practices in Britain.

Artists: Annie Attridge, BANK, Glenn Brown, Lynn Chadwick, Spartacus Chetwynd, Chrome Hoof, Marcus Coates, Keith Coventry, Shezad Dawood, Jeremy Deller, Jack Duplock, Angus Fairhurst, Saul Fletcher, Gwen John, Dryden Goodwin, Douglas Gordon, Paul Graham, Derek Jarman, Isaac Julien, Emma Kay, Le Gun, Alastair MacKinven, Andrew Mania, Cornelia Parker, Mark Wallinger, Rebecca Warren

Curated by Charles Danby

“…Grand National will appear as a partial survey of a time in British art where there was inflation then a crash in values, not least in cultural value. Artistic worth, it seemed, ran second to the promotion of personalities, and an uneasy co-dependency of the art establishment, the art industry, the press and a young band of artists who would first exploit an unstable market, then embark on a mutually beneficial reconstruction of the status quo. To look from our own recession to the last one is to pinpoint a brief moment when art was the simulacrum of a movement that bucked the market, before becoming it...” (Chris Horrocks)

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(Extract) Sensation to Cessation - Text by Iain Aitch

…2010 Britain is an altogether different proposition. The optimism has gone, the Union Flag is drooping and Tracey Emin is threatening to go and live in France if taxes aren’t reduced. Recession has arrived, the markets and economy melting down just as Damien Hirst’s Beautiful Inside My Head Forever auction (2009) got underway at Sotheby’s, making pop art performance of the money-making process. Big finance has won and lost at the same time. Money talks, but Britain doesn’t have any left. Can we borrow £10 until next week? Okay, maybe the week after that. We do have some counterfeit Banksy’s if you are interested.

Meanwhile, the very existence of Britain is being questioned, as economic and political union gives way to cultural and ideological division. Scotland and Wales have their own parliaments, Northern Ireland is on the way to the same and England is caught between wistful nostalgia, fuelled by ex-pats and newspaper columnists, and considering exactly which kind of nationalism to adopt. Sometimes it looks unlikely the family will stay together long enough to step out together for the opening parade at the 2012 Olympics.

The existence of Britain has, of course, always been something of a political and labelling minefield. Ask any ten Brits how they define Britishness and you will get twenty-five different answers. We call it Britain, Great Britain, the UK, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Blighty, though during the Eurovision Song Contest we are happy to answer to Royaume Uni. We look at the Dutch askew for having the temerity to switch between Holland and the Netherlands, yet we are never sure where we stand in terms of topographical nomenclature, even when we are sat in our own homes. So, all this confusion over who and what we are makes for the perfect backdrop to a time of debate about whether Britain is a real and relevant place any more…

Iain Aitch is author of We’re British Init (Collins)

Publisher: Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium AVAILABLE FROM ANTENNE BOOKS >>
ISBN: 978-82-998342-0-9
Publication: November 2010
Price: £20
Binding: Paperback
Extent: 352pp
Image plates: / full colour: 154
Dimensions: 275 x 210 mm
Language: English / Norwegian
Edited: Charles Danby and Mari Sundet

Publication Contents:

/ Introduction
/ Curator’s introduction
/ Prologue / A Space of Otherness / by Roed Kjetil
/ Prologue / Sensation to Cessation / by Ian Aitch

/ Chapter 1: Afterword
/ A constructive site of a present British Art / by Charles Danby
Marcus Coates / Shezad Dawood / Jack Duplock / Alastair MacKinven / Spartacus Chetwynd / (Biographies)

/ Chapter 2: Brit Band
/ Art in Recession: The Young British Artists from Bust to Boom and Back Again / by Chris Horrocks
BANK / Angus Fairhurst / Mark Wallinger / (Biographies)

/ Chapter 3: Civil Low
/ Dynamic Perversity / by Neil Mulholland
Jeremy Deller / Paul Graham / Isaac Julien / (Biographies)

/ Chapter 4: Still Revolver
/ The Last New Wave: Modernism in the British Films of the Thatcher Era / by Peter Wollen
Derek Jarman / Dryden Goodwin / Douglas Gordon / Saul Fletcher / (Biographies)

/ Chapter 5: Constant Matter
/ Reproducing the Present / by Laura Allsop
Glenn Brown / Keith Coventry / Emma Kay / (Biographies)

/ Chapter 6: Object Matter
/ Material Language / by Rebecca Geldard
Cornelia Parker / Rebecca Warren / Annie Attridge / Andrew Mania / (Biographies)

/ Chapter 7: A Modern Ethos
/ ‘Englishness’ and ‘Modernism’ Revisited / by Charles Harrison
Lynn Chadwick / Gwen John/ (Biographies)

/ Endnotes
/ Notes on contributors / List of works in the exhibition / Acknowledgements / Colophan

Annie Attridge
Your borders, your rivers, your tiny villages 2010
Porcelain, tin and enamel glaze with wooden table
74 x 154 x 138 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Nettie Horn, London

BANK
Stop short-changing us. Popular culture is for idiots. We believe in ART. 1998
Installation with oil on canvas and constructed figures
366 x 610 x 610 cm

Glenn Brown
The Suicide of Guy Debord 2001
Oil on panel
62.5 x 46 cm
Collection of the artist, courtesy of Gagosian, London

Glenn Brown
International Velvet 2004
Oil on panel
145.5 x 121.5 cm
Collection of the artist, courtesy of Gagosian, London

Glenn Brown
Shallow Deaths 2000
Oil on canvas
70 x 57.5 cm
Collection of the artist, courtesy of Gagosian, London

Glenn Brown
Organ Grinder 2009
79 x 63 x 96 cm
Oil paint on acrylic over plaster and metal armature
Collection of the artist, courtesy of Gagosian, London

Lynn Chadwick
Bird III 1958
Bronze
134 x 99 x 74 cm
Collection of the British Council

Lynn Chadwick
Beast XXII 1959
Bronze
76 x 58 x 52 cm
Collection of the British Council

Spartacus Chetwynd
Bat Opera (1-4) 2006
Oil on canvas
24 x 29 cm
Private collection

Spartacus Chetwynd
Bat Opera (1-6) 2004
Oil on canvas
15 x 20 cm
Private collection

Marcus Coates
Vision Quest 2010
With Chrome Hoof and Le Gun
Multi-screen Installation
Produced by Nomad
Courtesy of the artist, Kate MacGarry, London & Workplace Gallery

Keith Coventry
Coopers Road Estate 1995
Oil on canvas
81.5 x 71 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Haunch of Venison, London

Keith Coventry
Pelican Road 1997
Oil on canvas
113 x 82 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Haunch of Venison, London

Keith Coventry
Bancroft Estate 1997
Oil on canvas
116.5 x 84.5 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Haunch of Venison, London

Keith Coventry
Fields Estate 1996
Oil on canvas
97 x 71 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Haunch of Venison, London

Keith Coventry
Sivill house (from the ‘Murder estate’ series) 2010
Oil on canvas
83.7 x 68.6 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Haunch of Venison, London

Shezad Dawood
Make it Big (Blow Up) 2002-2003
Production Stills 1-7
Silver gelatin print
42 x 52 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Paradise Row, London

Shezad Dawood
Girl on a Motorcycle 2002
Oil on Canvas
101.5 x 81 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Galleria Riccardo Crespi, Milan

Shezad Dawood
The Third Man 2002
Oil on Canvas
100 x 70 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Galleria Riccardo Crespi, Milan

Shezad Dawood
Make it Big (Red) 2003
Oil on Canvas
100 x 70 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Galleria Riccardo Crespi, Milan

Shezad Dawood
Make it Big (Yellow) 2003
Oil on Canvas
100 x 70 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Galleria Riccardo Crespi, Milan

Shezad Dawood
Make it Big (Green) 2003
Oil on Canvas
100 x 70 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Galleria Riccardo Crespi, Milan

Shezad Dawood
Make it Big (Alternate) 2003
Oil on Canvas
100 x 70 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Paradise Row, London

Jeremy Deller, Director: Mike Figgis
The Battle of Orgreave 2001
Documentary film
Co-commissioned by Artangel and Channel 4

Jack Duplock
Everybody knows this is somewhere 2010
Acrylic and pencil on wood and paper
305 x 420 x 450 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Agency, London

Angus Fairhurst
The Birth of Consistency 2004
Bronze
13 x 34 x 22.5 cm
Courtesy The Estate of Angus Fairhurst and Sadie Coles HQ, London

Angus Fairhurst
When I woke up in the morning, the feeling was still there 1992
Silkscreen prints 1-4
87.5 x 66.3 cm
Courtesy The Estate of Angus Fairhurst and Sadie Coles HQ, London

Angus Fairhurst
Things That Don't Work Properly / Things That Never Stop 1998
4 screen video work
Courtesy The Estate of Angus Fairhurst and Sadie Coles HQ, London

Saul Fletcher
Untitled#210 (Birdcage) 2009
Black & white Polaroid A/P
13.3 x 10.8 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Alison Jacques, London

Saul Fletcher
Untitled#205 (Corridor) 2009
Black & white Polaroid 5/5
13.3 x 10.8 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Alison Jacques, London

Saul Fletcher
Untitled#207 (Alex) 2009
Black & white Polaroid A/P
10.8 x 13.3 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Alison Jacques, London

Saul Fletcher
Untitled#208 (Lili) 2009 A/P
Black & white Polaroid 
10.8 x 13.3 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Alison Jacques, London

Saul Fletcher
Untitled#211 (Window) 2009 
Black & white Polaroid A/P
13.3 x 10.8 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Alison Jacques, London

Saul Fletcher
Untitled #194 (crow) 2008 
Black and white Polaroid  A/P
13.3 x 10.7 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Alison Jacques, London

Gwen John
Young Woman in a Mulberry Coloured Dress 1923-24
Oil on canvas
54 x 37 cm
Private collection, courtesy Martin Tinney Gallery, Cardiff

Paul Graham
From the series Beyond Caring
Interview Cubicles, Hackney DHSS, East London 1985
Fuji crystal archive print
88 x 107 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Anthony Reynolds, London

Paul Graham
From the series Beyond Caring
Woman in Headscarf, DHSS Waiting Room, Bristol 1984
Fuji crystal archive print
88 x 107 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Anthony Reynolds, London

Paul Graham
From the series Beyond Caring
Man filling in Form, Liverpool 1984
Fuji crystal archive print
88 x 107 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Anthony Reynolds, London

Paul Graham
From the series Beyond Caring
Waiting Room, Highgate DHSS, North London 1984
Fuji crystal archive print
88 x 107 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Anthony Reynolds, London

Paul Graham
From the series Beyond Caring
Men Waiting, Whitechapel DHSS, East London 1985
Fuji crystal archive print
88 x 107 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Anthony Reynolds, London

Paul Graham
From the series Beyond Caring
Mother and Baby, Highgate DHSS, North London 1984
Fuji crystal archive print
88 x 107 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Anthony Reynolds, London

Douglas Gordon
Looking down with his black, black, ee 2008
Multi-screen video
Courtesy of the artist

Douglas Gordon
Trigger Finger 1997
Single-screen video
Courtesy of the artist

Dryden Goodwin
Two Thousand and Three 2003
16mm film and lightbox
Courtesy of the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London

Isaac Julien
Territories 1984
35mm transferred to video
Courtesy of the artist and Victoria Miro, London

Derek Jarman
The Last of England 1987
8mm transferred to video
Courtesy of the Estate of Derek Jarman and Euro London films

Emma Kay
Shakespeare from Memory 1-26 1998
Digital inkjet prints
59.5 x 42cm
Courtesy of the artist

Matt Appleton and Chris Bianchi at Le Gun
Silence is Black 2010
Black archival ink on canvas
205 x 420 cm
Courtesy of the artists and Nomad, London

Matt Appleton and Chris Bianchi at Le Gun
Vision Quest, Fox Head 2009
Hand screened by K2 with black archival Ink on white archival paper
57cm x 76 cm
Courtesy of the artists and Nomad, London

Matt Appleton and Chris Bianchi at Le Gun
Vision Quest, Horse Head 2009
Hand screened by K2 with black archival Ink on white archival paper
57cm x 76 cm
Courtesy of the artists and Nomad, London

Matt Appleton and Chris Bianchi at Le Gun
Vision Quest, Owl Head 2009
Hand screened by K2 with black archival Ink on white archival paper
57cm x 76 cm
Courtesy of the artists and Nomad, London

Matt Appleton and Chris Bianchi at Le Gun
Vision Quest, Ritual Poster 2009
Hand screened by K2 with black archival Ink on Mirri paper
64cm x 100 cm
Courtesy of the artists and Nomad, London

Andrew Mania
The Salon 2009
Antique wooden panels and wooden supports with four framed drawings
Embrace/Vampire 2009, 61 x 50 cm
Forest Boy 2009, 44 x 54 cm
Boy in Woods 2009, 34 x 42 cm
Olympia 2009, 81 x 61 cm
260 x 400 x 170 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Vilma Gold, London

Andrew Mania
The Dance 2009
Enamel paint on marine board
250 x 365 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Vilma Gold, London

Andrew Mania
Hostess 2009
Crayon on fibreglass
169 x 65 x 65 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Vilma Gold, London
Andrew Mania born 1974
Window 2009
Glass, wooden frame, wooden table, drawing on wood
270 x 170 x 110 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Vilma Gold, London

Alastair MacKinven
Pop In A Time Of Depression 2009
Screenprint and oil on canvas
220 x 160 cm
Courtesy of the artist and HOTEL, London

Alastair MacKinven
I O U 2009
Screenprint and oil on canvas
220 x 160 cm
Courtesy of the artist and HOTEL, London

Alastair MacKinven
Symbolic Exchange and Debt 2009
Screenprint and oil on canvas
220 x 160 cm
Courtesy of the artist and HOTEL, London

Cornelia Parker
Bullet Drawing 2008
Lead Bullet drawn into wire
65.5 x 65.5 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Frith Street Gallery, London

Cornelia Parker
Brontëan Abstract (Emily Brontë’s blotting paper) 2006
C-type Colour Print of Scan
66 x 62 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Frith Street Gallery, London

Cornelia Parker
Brontëan Abstract (Charlotte Brontë’s blotting paper) 2006
C-type Colour Print of Scan
67 x 55 cm
Courtesy of the artist and Frith Street Gallery, London

Mark Wallinger
The Word in the Desert I 2000
C-print
190 x 130 cm
Courtesy of Anthony Reynolds Gallery

Mark Wallinger
The Word in the Desert II 2000
C-print
190 x 154 cm
Courtesy of Anthony Reynolds Gallery

Mark Wallinger
The Word in the Desert IV 2000
C-print
190 x 154 cm
Courtesy of Anthony Reynolds Gallery

Mark Wallinger
The Word in the Desert V 2000
C-print
190 x 154 cm
Courtesy of Anthony Reynolds Gallery

Rebecca Warren
The Emperor 2001
Unfired Clay and plinth
40 x 56 x 50 cm
Collection of the British Council

Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium is located 75km south east of Oslo, it has 1,800 square feet of exhibition space set across four floors. A former Cellulose factory it is the one of the largest visual art institutions in Norway. Orginally built in 1886 it closed as a working factory in 1973 and lay empty for almost thirty years before it was purchased in 2001 by its now Director Morten Viskum. It was transformed between 2001-03 and opened with its first exhibition in the same year. It hosts a café and bookshop and is open to the public public annually from May to October presenting its programme of a single major exhibition for this period. Since 2003 Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium has shown works by artists including Anslem Kieffer, Joseph Beuys, Cindy Sherman, Bjarne Melgaard and AK Dolvin. It also runs a second sepearte exhibition space, Galeri Star, that hosts a solo exhibition of a major international artist during each exhibition season. Galeri Star has presented artists including Hermann Nitsch (2007), Luc Tymans (2008) and Alex Katz (2009). In 2010 Galeri Star presents works by Sally Mann.

Additional Information:

For additional information on Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium and its exhibition programme, press images, and archive material please contact Mari Sundet: mari.sundet@vestfossen.com / +47 4802 2976

Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium
Fabrikkgata 11 B
NO-3320 Vestfossen
Norway
www.vestfossen.com